Shipping container



Patented July I7, 1.934

f unirse STATES 1,966,508 VSHIPPING CONTAINER John Lawler and- WilliamI. Kavin, San Francisco, Calif., assignors to Poultry Producers ofCentral California, San Francisco, Calif., a corporation of CaliforniaApplication october 31, 1932, se'riaiNo, 640,453

comme.v (o1. 217-12) l The invention relates to containers andparticulai-lyto a shipping` crate orb'ox.

One ofthe objects'of the invention isthepo vision of a shipping crate orbox which may be repeatedly returned for filling and shipping.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a shipping cratehaving two demountable walls, interchangeable as tol their respectivepositions, toY facilitate the assembling and closing of the crate;

, The invention possesses other objects and features ofadvantage', someof which, with the foreg.oing,.will be set forth in the followingvdescription otour.` invention, It is to be understood that we mdonotli'mi't ourselves to this disclosure'of species of our invention,as we may adopt Variant embodiments thereofwithin the scope of theclaims. Referring to the drawing: lilgure 1' is aperspective View of thecrate of our invention as it appears when closed.l

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the erate'a portionl beingbroken away toshow the arrangement ofthe parts.k

F1'gure'3` isa fragmental View partly in section and partly inelevationshowing the stud" member of' the locking means'.

yBroadlyQtlie shipping crate or box oimy invention comprisesend wallstowhich adjacent side walls.. are.. permanently secured so that a rigidvtrmndationstructure is provided.r The other adjacent side walls areeach demountably secured to the end walls with one lapping thoedge oftheothers."` Interposed-between the'demountable side walls and? thev1 endwalls are meansoperable to i' release thelsi'dewalls by lateral movementthereof.

eends', as shown in Figure 1,l is preferably greater than theirwidthfbytwo` thicknesses of the materialfrused--inthefside Walls, inorder @to bring the variousf-partsof Vthecrate into interlocking rela'tion'zwithout undesirable spaces.v Fixedlyisecured to the bottom edgesofthe end walls is thebottom wall of the crate. 'Ihe bottom is made ofclosely spaced slats-'4,j whichextend beyond the lower corners'fofJ theendfwalls'a distance approximately equal to the thickness of 'the stockused, so as to extend beyond the edges of the end walls, but i' rest onthe ledge 6 along the bottom edge, and lie ilush with'the endwalls alongthe top edge.

Y Vlilncirclingpeach end wall and connected bottom andA rear walls is ametallic reinforcing band or' strip 8, which issecured by nails atsuitable intervals to the exposed (upper and front) edges of the endwall, and'overlying the rear and bottom walls, as shown. The strip thusserves not only to bind the bottom and rear edges of the crate andreinforce the fasteningof the bottom and rear walls to the ends, but onthe exposed upper and front edgesof the ends, the strip provides asecure mounting forfastening means Wherewith to Vattach the demountablewalls. At spaced intervals along the exposed edges of the end Wallsheaded studs 9 are arranged on the strip 8 in any suitable manner,preferably by riveting as shown in Figure -3; yPreferably two such studsare disposed in the strip on each upper andfront'edge of each end wall.

To give greater rigidity to thev structure and to prevent shifting ofthe contents, a central partition 11 similar to the end walls isprovided; and thewalls 4 and l are also secured to it. Thus a crateof'substantial structure, having two divisions with open top and frontis presented. The remaining walls comprising the front and top of thevcrate generally designated' in Figure 2 as 12 and 13 respectively, areidentical in struc'- tureV and size, so that they may be demounted andinterchanged indiscriminately. Each of these sides is' made preferablyof a wire central Slat 16 and two narrow vmargin slats 17, secured attheir ends by a cleat 18v with. wide spaces between the slats.

Extending across the ends of the inner Ysurface of each ofthedemountable sides or walls is a metallic'band or strip 21the ends 22 ofwhich are turned up' at right angles against the outer edges of themargin slat to protect the Wood.

Slots`23,. each aligned with a stud 9, are provided in the portions ofthe strip which extend across the spaces between the slats. These slots:are shapedr and proportioned to pass the'head of the studk 9 at the endremote from the corner between the two demountable sides, and to engagethe neck ofV the stud at the other end.

It willfbef noted thatthe width of each of the demountable sides12`and113, is yequal to the heights of the end walls 2. The placing ofthe front wall l2 is accomplished by passing the heads of the studs 9through the slots 23 and then dropping the side or moving it laterallyto bear against the shoulder G at the bottom, at which time the nar owportions of the slots are engaging the necks of the studs under theheads, so that the side wall is held rrnly in place. The upper edge ofthe front wall then lies ush with the upper edge of the end wall.

The top wall i6 is similarly applied and when in position extends beyondor overlaps both the Xed baci: wall and the demountable front wall,which thus cannot be disengaged until the top is removed.

in the specication and claims the term lateral movement is used todesignate a sliding movement in the same plane in which the demountableside lies when in position on the crate, to effect the removal orapplication of the side.

.Accidental lateral releasing movement of the top is prevented by amanually operated catch of any suitable character such as the upwardlycurved spring 24 mounted on the partition l1. The free end of the springis preferably bent downwardly into a notch 26 in the edge of thepartition, leaving a shoulder 27 which extends above the surface of thepartition.

As the top is moved transversely to engage the studs, the springfiattens out against the partition to let the margin slat pass. Theparts are proportioned so that when the studs have been seated, thespring snaps up back of the margin slat 17, as best shown in Figure 2;and thus prevents backward transverse movement to disengage the studs.The top cannot be moved until the spring catch has been manuallydepressed, so that the engaged slat can be moved transversely over it.

The shipping crate of our invention is designed chiefly for use in localtrade to convey eggs, poultry and other products from the producer tothe wholesaler or distributing center. its use is practical only if thecost of transportation for short hauls permits. When the empty cratesare being returned, considerable space can be conserved if two opencrates are nested together and the four demountable sides laid on top.

We claim:

l, A container comprising end walls; adjacent side walls permanentlysecured to the end walls; adjacent side walls demountably secured to theend walls, one lapping the edge of the other; means securing eachdemountable wall to the end walls and operable to release thedemountable wall by lateral movement in the plane thereof, and amanually releasable catch for preventing lateral movement of the lappingside wall.

2. A container comprising end walls; adjacent side walls permanentlysecured to the end walls; adjacent side walls demountably secured to theend walls, one lapping the edge of the other; studs fixed in the endwalls, means arranged on the demountable walls for slidably engaging thestuds, and a manually releasable spring catch for preventing lateralmovement of the lapping side wall.

3. A container comprising end walls; adjacent side walls permanentlysecured to the end walls; adjacent side walls demountably secured to theend walls, one lapping the edge of the other and preventing movementthereof; a metallic strip disposed on the edges of the end walls belowthe demountable walls, interlockable means arment of the lapping sidewall.

ranged on the strip and demountable walls and releasable by lateralmovement of the walls in the respective planes thereof, and a manuallyreleasable spring catch for preventing lateral move- 4. A containercomprising end walls; adjacent side walls xed to the end walls; adjacentside walls demountably secured to the end walls, one lapping the edge ofthe other; a metallic reinforcing strip disposed about the edges of theend walls over the xed side Walls and below the demountable walls,metallic strips on the ends of the demountable walls, interlocking meansdisposed on the strips to secure the demountable walls in place andreleasable by lateral movement of the demountable walls, and a manuallyreleas. able catch for preventing lateral movement of the lapping sidewall.

5. A container comprising end walls; adjacent side walls xed to the endwalls; adjacent side walls demountably secured to the end walls, ametallic reinforcing strip disposed about the edges of the end wallsover the iixed side walls and below the demountable walls, metallicstrips on the ends of the demountable walls, andreleasable interlockingmeans disposed on the strips to secure the demountable walls in place. g

6. A container comprising oblong rectangular end walls, two adjacentside walls permanently secured to the end walls, two demountableadjacent side walls interchangeable with respect to each other, andmeans interposed between the end walls and the demountable walls for1emovably securing the demountable walls in assembled position.

7. A container comprisingl oblong rectangular end walls, two adjacentside walls permanently secured to the end walls, two demountableadjacent side walls interchangeable with respect to each other and theedge of one of the permanently secured walls, and one lapping the edgeof the other, means securing each demounta'ble wall to the end walls andoperable to release the demountable wall by lateral movement in theplane thereof, and a manually releasable spring catch for preventinglateral movement of the lap--v ping side wall.

8. A container comprising a wall, a second wall removably positionedadjacent said first wall, means for locking said walls together andreleasable upon lateral movement of said second wall' in the planethereof, a third wall removably po-` sitioned adjacent the rst wall andoverlapping the second wall to hold the latter against lateral movement,and means for locking the thirdand first walls together and releasable.only upon lateral movement of said third wall in the plane thereof. v

9. A container comprising a wall, a second wall removably positionedadjacent said first wall, means for locking said walls together andreleasable upon lateral movement of said second wall in the planethereof, a third wall removably positioned adjacent the first wall andoverlapping" Y the second wall to hold the latter against lateral 140movement, means for locking the third and irst walls together andreleasable only upon lateral movement of said third wall in the planethereof, and a manually releasable catch for holding said third wallagainst lateral movement. 145

J OHN LAWLER. WILLIAM I. KAVIN.

